F 015 Luxury in Motion.

With the self-driving luxury saloon F 015 Luxury in Motion, Mercedes-Benz shows how the automobile is in the process of changing from a means of transportation to a private retreat space.

The F 015 Luxury in Motion explores the possibilities of autonomous driving in depth for the first time. With its high-resolution "Extended Sense" sensor system, the vehicle keeps a constant 360-degree eye on its surroundings, which enables it to detect and avoid critical handling situations in good time. Communication with the vehicle surroundings is by means of large LED displays at the front and rear, sounds and targeted voice messages. The F 015 is equipped with a laser projection system that serves to project important information in a broad cone of light onto the road in front of it.

The "3D Body Engineering" design principle was further refined and evolved into the highly efficient SBS "Smart Body Structure" for the F 015. This intelligent hybrid lightweight design combines innovative materials in a way that matches requirements exactly, ensuring the highest crash safety levels and optimised weight. In the interior of the F015 Luxury in Motion the designers have created a lounge-like, digital living space with an ambience characterised by elegance, quality and a feeling of well-being. Four swivelling lounge chairs allow a face-to-face seat configuration.

In the future scenario entitled “City of the Future 2030+” developed by Mercedes-Benz experts, autonomous driving has gained acceptance and is technically reliable.Passengers can use the newly-won time in different ways during the journey. The "car-friendly city" is turning more and more into a "people-friendly city", but without relinquishing individual freedom or the possibility to use the car. The strict separation between living, recreation and transit areas is fading away, creating greater quality of life for all city dwellers.

S-Class Intelligent Drive.

The vision of autonomous drive becomes reality. What once sounded like science fiction becomes a tangible reality with the S 500 INTELLIGENT DRIVE experimental vehicle: A vehicle that masters even highly complex traffic situations on its own.

This is made possible by a host of sophisticated near-standard technologies: With a forward-facing stereo camera, a rear camera and four additional short-range radar sensors, all the static and dynamic objects within a radius of 80 m are registered. Based on the data thus acquired the vehicle can calculate the movement of other road users, identify potential hazards and plan its further course.An additional camera behind the windscreen can detect traffic light signals from a distance of up to 130 metres. Using colour recognition, the vehicle determines whether it has to brake or can proceed – a key element for predictive driving .

The Intelligent Drive system is available for the C-, E-, S- and CLS-Classes.

F 125!

With the F 125! Mercedes Benz presented a visionary look ahead to the development of emission-free mobility in the luxury segment on the occasion of the motor car's 125th anniversary.

The heart of the e4MATIC all-wheel drive is a powerful further-development of the Mercedes-Benz fuel cell drive. With a continuous output of 170 kW (231 hp) and a peak output of 230 kW (313 hp), the F 125! accelerates to 100 km/h in 4.9 seconds, reaching a top speed of 220 km/h, consuming just 0.79 kilograms of hydrogen per 100 kilometres in the NEDC cycle (equivalent to 2.7 litres of diesel fuel).

A state-of-the-art, powerful and particularly compact lithium-sulphur battery, in combination with the fuel cell, achieves a total range of up to 1000 km, 50 km of which exclusively battery-powered. This technology is currently in the basic research phase. Closer to series-production maturity, on the other hand (from around 2025), is the structure-integrated hydrogen composite storage unit of the F 125!. It enables full integration of the hydrogen tank in the vehicle bodywork structure – a technological revolution. With this innovation, emission-free fuel-cell vehicles could achieve the same range as current diesel models with the same available space.

The Advanced Driving Assist assistance system can perform frequent driving manoeuvres such as lane changes and overtaking on multi-lane roads if the driver wishes. Thanks to radio-based vehicle networking with its surroundings the F 125! can additionally exchange information with other vehicles, with specially-equipped traffic lights, warning systems and traffic control centre and provide timely warning of possible hazards.

The visionary infotainment system @yourCOMAND is operated mainly through normal speech, intuitive gestures and touch thanks to Natural Handling. A clearly-arranged 3D display for three-dimensional representation in the instrument cluster adapts to natural perceptive habits and relieves the strain on the driver.

F800 Style.

In 2010, Mercedes-Benz presented the F800 Style, a ground-breaking luxury-class saloon that combines sustainable drive technology with avant-garde design – with two drive system variants. Both the electric drive system with fuel cell and the Plug-in HYBRID ensure cultivated dynamism and motoring enjoyment without emissions.

In the electric drive system variant based on fuel cell technology the 100-kW electric motor of the F800 Style delivers a superb torque of 290 Newton-metres. The fuel cell generates the drive current from a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen on board – and emits only pure water vapour. The powerful Plug-in HYBRID with its 220-kW V6 petrol engine delivers a sports-car-level performance thanks to direct fuel injection, a hybrid module with an output of 80 kW and a lithium-ion battery with a storage capacity of over 10 kWh – while consuming no more than 2.9 litres per 100 kilometres (provisional value) and emitting just 68 grams of CO2 per kilometre.

The innovative PRE-SAFE 360° safety system installed in both variants monitors the vehicle surroundings towards the rear as well, and activates the brakes approx. 600 milliseconds before an imminent rear end collision. This way PRE-SAFE 360° helps prevent secondary accidents, such as the rear-impacted vehicle being catapulted in an uncontrolled manner into a junction or onto a pedestrian crossing.

Another highlight is DISTRONIC PLUS with Steer Assist – a consistent further development of the DISTRONIC PLUS system. It reduces strain on the driver by enabling the vehicle to automatically follow a vehicle ahead at speeds of up to 40 km/h. The system can detect the difference between a curve in the road and a turning manoeuvre so that it does not blindly follow the vehicle in front, for instance if it should change lanes.

The C111: The "research laboratory on wheels".

The C 111 study from 1969 was an embodiment of futuristic design merged with innovative technology. The vehicle served as a platform for testing different drive system concepts, and with its bodywork made from glass-fibre-reinforced plastic, it put its stamp on the design of state-of-the-art sports cars. The lightweight skin of the coupé, whose design opened up new possibilities for aerodynamics, was bonded to the steel sub-frame. This path continued with the even more elegant C111-II, presented at the Auto Salon in Geneva in 1970.

The C111 Type I was powered, not by a reciprocating piston engine but a wankel engine. The performance of the C111 with a three-rotor wankel engine was convincing from the very outset. With its 280 hp, the wankel drive unit accelerated the vehicle to a top speed of 260 km/h, the sprint from 0 to 100 km/h took a mere 5 seconds. The 1970 C111-II was powered by a large four-rotor wankel engine. This powerplant delivered 350 hp and made a top speed of 300 km/h possible. And this second C111 accelerated from 0 too 100 km/h in a highly respectable time of 4.8 seconds. However, this powerful performance contrasted with a poor efficiency level which cannot be improved through technical modifications. Due to its high consumption levels and too-high pollutant emissions, Mercedes-Benz gave up work on this engine variant in spite of its impressive running smoothness and compact size.

Instead of this, Mercedes-Benz pressed ahead with the further development of the diesel engine, frowned upon as loud a sluggish. In 1976 engineers installed a three-litre 5-cylinder turbo-diesel engine motor in a C 111-II. Thanks to turbocharging and charge-air cooling the vehicle, now dubbed C 111-IID, delivered 190 hp to the road and impressed at the Italian high-speed track of Nardo with its spectacular speeds. The average speed of this lightning test drive was 252 km/h, and Mercedes-Benz proved that diesel-powered vehicles could certainly also sprint.

ESF 2009 – Ground-breaking safety.

The ESF 2009 research vehicle presented in 2009 stands in the tradition of the experimental safety vehicles of the 1970s, which smoothed the way for many innovations. Like its predecessor before it, it provided a glimpse at possible safety and assistance systems of the future.

The Braking Bag is an innovative additional brake located in the vehicle floor – more precisely an airbag that deploys beneath the car briefly just before an imminent impact. The system stems the vehicle against the ground by means of a friction surface and can increase vehicle deceleration briefly to over 20 m/s2. This scrubs additional energy and reduces accident severity. At the same time the car is raised by up to eight centimetres, thus preventing the "diving effect" under the obstacle.

PRE-SAFE Structure and PRE-SAFE Pulse provide next-generation occupant protection. PRE-SAFE Structure includes inflatable metal sections in the vehicle bodywork. When not needed they are collapsed in a space- and weight-saving manner. If and when their protective effect is needed, a gas generator deploys the sections in a split-second, increasing the strength of the vehicle flanks considerably. In the event of an imminent side-on collision PRE-SAFE Pulse moves driver and front passenger preventively by around 50 millimetres towards the centre of the vehicle immediately before the impact, which can reduce the load on their torso by around one third. To do this, the system inflates air chambers located in the side bolsters of the backrests in fractions of a second. This removes the occupants from the danger area.

The Spotlight function is a further development of the Nightview Assist PLUS, with an added significant step: Potential sources of danger on the road – apart from being displayed on the monitor – are briefly spotlighted beyond the normal main beam illumination with the partial LED high-beam light as if by an aimed spotlight.

BlueZERO – The bridge to an emission-free future.

The Concept BlueZERO makes three different configurations of sustainable drive system concepts possible. Thanks to the sandwich-concept floor architecture, the components can be located in the underbody of the vehicle, which has a favourable effect on the centre of gravity as well as saving space and offering the best possible protection. The five-seater BlueZERO studies also set standards in terms of lightweight construction, interior and bodywork design.

In the BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS, the E-CELL drive is complemented by a Range Extender: In the vehicle rear it carries the 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, already well-known from the smart fortwo. At a constant speed of 3500 rpm this compact three-cylinder delivers an output of 50 kW. Via an alternator of the same rating it recharges the 17.5 kWh lithium-ion battery as required. This makes a range of up to 600 km on a single tank possible. The range on electric power alone, in locally emission-free operation, is up to 100 kilometres.

The BlueZERO F-CELL with fuel-cell drive delivers an electric range of well over 400 km. The fuel cell operates as an energy converter – the actual fuel (hydrogen) reacts with the oxygen inside the cell and converts chemical into electrical energy. The only by-product is water.

Based on the A-Class and featuring a battery/electric drive and range of up to 200 km, the BlueZERO E-CELL meets all the demands of sustainable mobility. The advanced liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery with a storage capacity of up to 35 kWh is housed in the underbody.

F400 Carving – Uncompromisingly dynamic

Presented by Mercedes-Benz in 2002, the F400 Carving was an uncompromisingly purist speedster that showed the extent of what is possible in terms of handling dynamics.

Thanks to "Active Tyre Tilt Control" (ATTC) the F400 Carving literally leans into each curve: An active camber angle adjustment function tilts the wheels of both axles in curves or during strong braking-deceleration on the outside of the curve at an angle of up to 20 degrees to the side - variably and computer-controlled. Innovative tyres with an asymmetrical tread pattern run on specially-designed tread rubber with a particularly high friction coefficient. The wheels on the inside of the curve and the vehicle body remain in their normal positions. This creates a new standard for directional stability, handling safety, speed and dynamism, depending on speed and curve radius.

The Steer-by-Wire and Brake-by-Wire electronic steering and braking systems are further technical highlights. Instead of mechanical connecting elements such as a steering column or linkage between brake pedal and braking force booster there are now cables that transmit the steering and braking commands electrically. The driver steers the car by means of an electronic steering wheel. Depressing the brake pedal sends an electrical signal to a microcomputer which calculates and doses the brake pressure for each wheel according to the situation. The result is markedly better braking safety in curves.

F 400 Carving research engineers also enter uncharted territory by testing an active hydropneumatic system as an alternative to Active Body Control technology. In contrast to a conventional suspension, which controls the active forces between vehicle body and wheels by adjusting spring action, active hydropneumatic technology influences both the suspension and damping – aligning both systems with the current situation in fractions of a second. The advantages of this system include improved safety and enhanced ride comfort.

Mercedes-Maybach S-Class

The essence of luxury.

The F 015 is equipped with a laser projection system that serves to project important information in a broad cone of light onto the road in front of it, such as for instance a virtual "zebra" crossing.